Last Modified May 27, 2015

Table VII-1-4 Results of second-order (S-O) analysis for a 28-ft long horizontal
W14x48 arm strut bent about the weak axis considering self-weight of the member.
Second-order
Axial Force, P[kips]
(S-O)
0
30
60
90
101
105
Moment [kip-in]
55.5
72.5
105
182
252
293
Max. deflection [in]
0.44
0.57
0.81
1.45
1.99
2.31
IR (Eq.VII-1-1)
0.05
0.30
0.56
0.86
1.00
1.07
with S-O effect
IR (Eq.VII-1-1)
0.05
0.28
0.51
0.74
0.83
0.86
without S-O effect
Results in Table VII-1-4 show the likely failure of the strut for the interaction ratio IR
equal 1.0, corresponding to the axial load of 101.0 Kips when the second-order effect is
included in the analysis. Analysis of the strut without the second-order effect results in
IR=0.83 for the same axial load, significantly underestimating the potential failure of the
member.
Stability Analysis of Two-Strut Gate Arms
Stability analysis of a two-strut gate arm was performed for the gate model shown in
Figure VII-1-7. The gate radius is 28-ft and both gate struts and the bracing members are
made of W14x48. All members are rigid connected to each other.
The load is applied to the gate arm in stages, starting with the self-weight of the structure,
and is followed by the axial compressive force P gradually applied up to 200,000 lbf.
Finally, the trunnion moment is gradually applied up to 1,000,000 lbf-in. The analysis
results are presented in Table VII-1-3 and the deformation of the arm for the staged
applied loads is shown in Figure VII-1-8.

Figure VII-1-7 Model of two-strut arm for the analysis.

VII-1-14

Last Modified May 27, 2015

Figure VII-1-8 Deformation of the gate arms for staged load.

Figure VII-1-8 shows deformations of the gate arm for the loads applied in stages. In
Table VII-1-5 the maximum bending moment and the axial force in the struts are
presented together with the interaction ratio computed based on equation VII-1-1. The
analysis results show that higher internal forces exist in the upper strut than the lower
one, even though equal axial load is applied.
For the given axial loads and the trunnion moment of 1,000,000 lbf-in the interaction
ration is equal to 0.97 and 0.88 for the upper and the lower strut, respectively. The results
indicate that the gate arm has not reach its critical stage but the gate will very likely fail
for the defined load conditions (per Table VII-1-7).
Table VII-1-5 Results of second-order (S-O) analysis for a two-strut arm.
Max. Moment in Strut
Trunnion Moment, M [kip-in]
[kip-in]
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
Upper strut
9.8
104
198
291
385
478
Lower strut
3.8
88.8
183
276
371
465
Axial Force in Strut
[kip]
Upper strut
201
204
207
209
212
215
Lower strut
198
196
193
191
189
186
Interaction ratio IR
Upper strut
0.51
0.61
0.69
0.78
0.87
0.97
Lower strut
0.50
0.57
0.64
0.72
0.81
0.88

Risk Analysis

VII-1-15